The present invention relates to a housing for an electronic component, in particular for a Gunn element (Gunn oscillator) for generating radar waves.
Radar waves having frequencies above 50 gigahertz generated by Gunn elements are used for collision avoidance radar units for motor vehicles (ACC=adaptive cruise control).
Therefore, German Published Patent Application No. 198 56 332 has already proposed a housing for such a Gunn element having a bottom part, a wall part and a cover part to enclose the electronic components. The cover part has a contact spring for producing an electronic connection to a terminal of the electronic component, the cover part and contact spring being made of one piece according to German Published Patent Application No. 198 56 332.
A Gunn element in such a housing typically has a diameter of approx. 70 micrometers and a thickness of approx. 10 micrometers, and it can be contacted electrically on the top and bottom sides.
The wall part of the housing according to German Published Patent Application No. 198 56 332 is made of ceramic. Connection of the wall part to the cover part is implemented by gluing or soldering, for example.
The housing according to the present invention for an electronic component, in particular a Gunn element, has the advantage over the related art that the wall part, made of plastic, can be integrally molded onto the cover part immediately after its production. This integral molding of the wall part by the injection molding technology can be performed on cover parts that have already been separated or, as an alternative, on cover parts that have been joined to a metal wafer or an intermediate carrier used to produce the cover parts. To this extent, the connection of the cover part to the wall part can also be advantageously established even at the wafer level in multiple use.
Due to the injection molding technology used for joining the plastic wall part to the cover part with the help of a connecting structure, the mechanical connection of the wall part to the cover part can also be adapted advantageously to the given requirements of each individual case to ensure that mechanical forces acting upon the housing are always absorbed and/or diverted in such a way that the connection of the wall part to the cover part is not destroyed.
Due to the plastic wall part and the connecting structure between the wall part and the cover part, inexpensive manufacture of the housing for an electronic component by the injection molding technology with low manufacturing tolerances is also guaranteed even in mass production.
Finally, it is advantageous that an assembly step is eliminated in assembly of the housing due to the connecting structure between the wall part and the cover part, because soldering or gluing of the cover part to the wall part can be omitted.
Thus, on the whole, the housing according to the present invention has the advantage of simple and reliable contacting of the electronic component, so that this housing is suitable in particular for mass production of Gunn elements for generating radar waves in a collision avoidance radar unit in motor vehicles.
Thus, it is especially advantageous if the wall part is made of a plastic that can be processed by the injection molding technology and is stable up to temperatures of at least 120 degrees Celsius. The choice of plastic as the material for the wall component also has the advantage that the resonant frequency of the Gunn element can be influenced or adjusted via its dielectric constant.
The connecting structure between the wall part and the cover part is advantageously implemented in the form of denticulation on the wall part and the cover part.